Sto rag e- batte ry



(No Model.)

C. SORLEY. l STORAGE BATTERY.

No. 420,975. y Patented Feb. 11, 1890.

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- UNITED STATES `PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES SORLEY, OF NEV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE ANGLO-AMERI- CANELECTRIC LIGHT MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF VEST VIRGINIA.

STO RAG E-BATTERY.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent NO. 420,975, dated February11, 1890.

Application tiled November 12, 1889. Serial No. 330,051. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES SORLEY, of the city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented a new and useful Improvement inStorage-Batteries, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a new construction of storage-cell; and itconsists in the combination, as hereinafter set forth, of the electrodeswith the supporting bridge-pieces of non-conducting material, with theinterposed supporting and spacing bars of like material, and with thebolts or other means of clamping the various parts into a united body.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a transverse section of niyimproved battery Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same on the lineY Y of Fig. l.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parte.

A is the containing vessel or cell. B B B B" are the electrodes. Theseelectrodes are made of strips of lead bent in convolutions, whichconvolutions areunited to form a plate substantially as described inUnited States Letters Patent No. 341,860, granted to me May 11, 1886.The ends of the strips forming each plate are brought together andconstitute the terminal o'f the plate'.

To the terminals C C of the plates B B" is secured by a bolt or othersuitable means a fork D, and to the terminals C Cl of the plates B B issecured a similar fork D. To said forks are to be attached theconducting-wires from the battery.

The plates B B B B are placed paralle to one another in the cell A. Eachplate rests upon a bridgepiece, as E. Said bridge-piece is made of hardrubber or other non-conducting material and is provided with legs F, sothat when it is laid in the bottom of the vessel A there is a free spacefor the liquid in said vessel to circulate beneath it. It will benoticed that the plates B, dac., do not extend across the bridge-pieces,but stand with their lower edge faces upon and parallel to the uppersurfaces of said bridge-pieces. This affords a support along the entirelower edge of the plate and prevents any sagging of the plate betweenthe points on which it rests.

Between the plates are placed bars or rods, as G H I, made of hardrubber or other insulating material and having flat faces, which bearagainst the iiat surfaces of the plate. I here show three of said rodsbetween adjacent plates, but I may alter the number. Similar rods, as JK, are disposed against the eX- terior of the outer plates of theseries. The sets of rods are placed in line transversely the plates, asshown in Fig. l.

Passing through the middle points of each transverse series of rods andalso through the bodies of the plates is a bolt M, of hard rubber orother insulating material, provided at one end with a head N and at theother with nut O. By setting up the nuts O the plates and rods are drawntogether, so that all the parts are bound into a closely-united body.V

The rods G I-I I J K, &c., do not extend to the bottom of the cell.Their ends terminate just below the upper longitudinal portions of thebridge-pieces E, so that said bridgepieces while not secured to theplates directly are nevertheless held in place by compression betweensaid rod ends. The entire combination of plates, rods, and bridge-piecesbeing thus bound together, may be lifted bodily into and ont of the cellfor purposes of examination or repair by means ot' the terminal forks DD', which also serve as convenient handles.

In practice I make the intermediate rods about one-quarter inch and theouter rods one-eighth inch in diameter; but I may vary theseproportions. I also may secure the binding-bolts M in place by any othermeans than a nut and head suitable to the purpose. I may also increasethe number of such binding-bolts, and arrange them to pass through' therods and plates above or below the central plane indicated in thedrawings.

The rods serve the double object of keeping the plates a certaindistance apart and of supporting said plates against buckling ordeformation.

It is well known that in the storagebattery the chemical energy exertedwithin the mass ASe of active material is exceedingly liable to give theplates a warped shape, and this,when the plates are in close proximity,as is necessarily the case, often results in their contact and aconsequent short-circuiting of the cell.

My plate here as illustrated is to a certain extent iiexible and free toyield to forces acting within its mass. In this Way I prevent itsdisintegration, and at the same time, by the use of the supporting-rods,I hold it in its proper position in the cell and prevent its bending orwarping. The apertures for the bolts are made directly through theplates without regard to whether the lead body or the active material,or both, are penetrated. It will be observed that neither the bolts northe rods nor the bridge-pieces 'are united rigidly, or are in comblikcor lattice form. Each part is separate and is ol' very simple shape, andhence is easily and cheaply made. The rods being placed verticallyafford no space for lodgmcnt of material escaping from the plate orimpurities. The tops of the bridge-pieces being surmounted by the platesalso otter no ledge for similar material.

All parts are easily and quickly put together, are solidly united inplace, and may be handled as a unit for all necessary purposes.

I claim- I. In a galvanic cell, a containing-Vessel, a bridge-piece uponthe bottom of .said vessel, and an electrode in plate form having itslower edge resting longitudinally upon the upper' surface of saidbridge-piece, substair tially as described.

2. In a galvanic cell, a containing-vessel, a bridge-piece upon thebottom of said vessel and having a transverse opening, and an electrodein plate form having its lower edge rest-ing longitudinally upon theupper surface of said bridgepiece, substantially as described.

3. In a galvanic cell, a containing-Vessel, a loose bridge-piece uponthe bottom of said vessel, and having a transverse opening, and anelectrode in plate l'orm having its lower edge resting longitudinallyupon the upper surface of said bridge-piece, substantially as described.

l-. In a storage-cell, an electrode containing active material inopenings in said electrode, two or more separate supporting-bars ofnonconducting material applied against a face of said electrode, andbolts of non-conducting material extending through said electrode andsaid bars and securing said electrode and bars together, substantiallyas described.

5. In a storage-cell, an electrode containing active material inopenings in said electrode, two or more separate supporting-bars ofnonconductingmaterial applied against opposite faces of said electrode,and bolts of non-con ducting material extending thro ugh said electrodeand each pair of bars disposed rela tively opposite each other and onopposite sides and securing said bars to said electrodes, substantiallyas described.

6. In a storage-cell, two electrodes, two or more separatesupporting-bars of non-conducting material interposed between saidelectrodes, and bolts of non-conducting material extending through saidelectrodes and interposed bars and securing said electrodes and barstogether.

7. In a storage-cell, an electrode, a loose supporting bridge-piece ofnon-conducting material applied against one edge of said electrode, barsof non conducting material applied to opposite sides of said electrodeand said bridge-piece, and a means of clamping said bars against saidelectrode 'and said bridgepiece, substantially as described.

8. The combination, in a storage-cell, ot' the electrodes B B, the.,spacing-bars C J, &cof nonconducting material interposed between saidelectrodes, bridge-pieces E, upon which said electrodes rest, and thebolts M, passing through said spacing bars and said electrodes,substantially as described.

CHARLES SORLEY. lVitnesses:

S. O. Einionns, lumi BENJAMiN.

